P.S. I Love You is a rom-com based on a quirky and compelling idea. A terminally ill husband arranges ten surprise packages to be delivered to his wife in the months after his death. Think: posthumous and vicarious Bucket List.

Great idea, some genuinely moving sequences — all utterly undermined by the fundamental unbelievability of the acting and set-pieces. The husband’s better-than-Ed-Sheeran serenade is a stand-out moment of absurdity. And the kooky humour’s far less charming and funny than it thinks.

An odd film: I cried, and reached for the zapper. Coulda been great, but unbelievability and misplaced zaniness ruin it.

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suitat a weddingin the sunin Spain is nota good look!

Last week

I had a bit of a poor week. Just wasn’t mindful of what I was eating. Yes, plenty of greens, lentils, and whatnot. But also one too many bickies with my tea and coffee. And I developed a weird cereal habit for a few days midweek(!) Also, I didn’t do any serious exercise unlike the last few weeks. It was, sadly, the first week I put weight on! 1.8lbs up from last week. I’m now 4.2lbs now behind my goal at this stage. So disappointing.

To catch up with my goal for next week, I would need to lose six pounds this week — but a pound a day is not healthy or sustainable and so I will not try to do this. However, if I lose a healthy amount of 3lb a week for the next few weeks, I can get back on track.

Next week

Gotta keep up the good points: eating more veg, more lean protein. But I’ve gotta cut down the unhealthy snackage — the problem is that I keep forgetting my apples/carrots/celery at home! Something Freudian going on there, perhaps? Also, gotta keep my head up: I know why my weight has gone back up, and it’s in my hands to stop it happening again.

Fire in the Sky is the 1993 screen depiction of the 1975 alleged alien abduction of lumberjack Travis Walton while out working with his crew. A slowburn, the film is notable for its focus. Rather than gratuitious shots of ETs, the drama revolves around how the disappearance of a local man affects a small town. His crew are villified as murderers, and mob tyranny ruins their lives as the towns tears itself apart.

This film seared itself into my memory as a kid. The petrol station scene (I won’t ruin it) genuinely disturbed me. And the tension throughout builds to that sequence: the single most believable portrayal of an alien abduction I have ever seen. As utterly convincing, visually impressive, and skin-crawlingly disturbing as it was when I saw it some twenty-odd years ago.

But was he abducted? Some have criticised the ambiguity of the film: it never gives us a clear yes-no answer. But I think this is the feature’s strength. The picture’s concern is how people cope with traumatic situations.

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suitat a weddingin the sunin Spain is nota good look!

Last week

I had a fairly good week. Went on a long walk to central London and about (very roughly over ten miles). I also more-or-less cut out all junk food and unhealthy snacks… but it was Easter, so I have to say I had a naughty weekend. None-the-less, another two pounds lost, and only 0.6lbs behind my target weight at this stage.

Next week

I think definitely no more “binge” days, as it were. No amount of exercise is gonna burn off that much Easter chocolate. Keep up the more veg, less gunge diet.

I’m on a 13 week diet to get into (a less round) shape for a family wedding. Click here for a quick explanation of what and why: but the short of it is this: having a Body Mass of over 30 (= “Obese Class 1”) in a suitat a weddingin the sunin Spain is nota good look!

This last week I haven’t changed anything dramatically. I have tried to cut down on snacks a tad. And I lost 2.4lbs! My target is 2.5lbs a week, so not bad going. I also went on a 22 mile walk, but that was a random one-off thing and nothing to do with any health regime!

I think for this week onwards I need to up my veggie intake, not eat a snack/supper in the evening, and see what happens. As you all know, losing weight is relatively easy the first few weeks, but becomes progressively harder!

Being physically healthy is about far more than losing weight. A personal trainer friend of mine always says “inches, not pounds”. That is, don’t measure if you’ve lost weight, measure if you’ve lost inches. Your weight fluctuates greatly throughout the day, anyway. Weigh yourself before and after meals, and poos; you might be surprised how much your weight changes!

Anyway, having said all that, I need to lose weight. Quick! I’ve got a wedding on the 3rd July: three months to the day! And I really need to get to under 15 stone, but my goal is 14st 7lbs (203lb, 92.1kg).

A healthy weight loss is 2-3lbs a week. As of right now, I’m 16st 11.6lb (235.6lbs, 106.9kg). So that’s 32.6lb to lose in 13 weeks: a required weight loss of 2.5lb a week. Definitely doable in a healthy way.

But why do I “need” to lose this weight? Well, first, it’s a wedding, and as “gay” as it may supposedly be for a man to say this, but I don’t want to be sweating buckets and bursting out of my suit. Plus, it’s gonna be in Spain — and that means it’s gonna be hot. On top of that, my body mass index is 30.3: Obese Class 1. And trust me, I feel it! So this is a good opportunity to get in shape.